All Ontario Amateurs – MESSAGE TO ALL AMATEURS – THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT & WELCOME TO THE NEW ONTARIO RESTRUCTURING

As you are aware changes have been made and now are ready to launch September 01, 2012 here in Ontario on behalf of the Radio Amateurs of Canada in relation to the Ontario Field Services. In the past Ontario has been served by one elected official of Field Services that being the Ontario Section Manager. For the last 7 years I have had the honour and pleasure to be elected and serve as your Ontario representative for Field Services on behalf of RAC. This position brought responsibilities of overseeing the field services in Ontario including ARES, the NTS, Official Bulletin Service and the Official Observer Service. I have had the opportunity to work with many wonderful and knowledgeable amateurs in these services and the wealth of experience in the province is second to none. However I also have been around long enough to realize that one person and one person alone cannot do justice to the job it deserves.

I know that during my time I have spent relentless hours on e-mails and discussing issues with many amateurs over the phone. In reality these concerns should be addressed face to face. I am a firm believer that for RAC to flourish in the future you need to have personal, interaction with your RAC official. Living in Northern Ontario and working full time I did not have the luxury to visit many clubs or ARES groups. I have met many of you at flea markets and meetings but you need to have there ability to contact your RAC Official when you need him/her. This is why I am excited about the new restructuring proposal undertaking by RAC. With three more additional Section Managers in the province representing their section of the province there is the opportunity to get more interaction. Each Section having a coordinator for the field services will only work better and represent all of you and make RAC stronger as a national organization. One of my last duties as Ontario Section Manager is to welcome the three additional members to the Ontario Team.

I know these three experienced amateurs will serve the amateur community well and I look forward to the new direction Ontario is taking and working with these fine gentlemen. Having served as Section Manager for all of Ontario for the past 7 years I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you that have supported me and my field services members over the years. Your commitment to the program has been proven many times over. I look forward to serving the members of Northern Ontario as your Section Manager for Ontario North – ONN. As always I am open to any questions or concerns that you may have. Please feel free to contact me at anytime. I look forward to this new process and the exciting times ahead for Field Services and RAC.

Industry Canada has advised the Radio Amateurs of Canada that the Volunteer Examiner Qualifications of VA3MPM have been re-instated. Mr. Myers was the subject of a previous bulletin announcing his qualifications had been revoked.

The information regarding the revocation of the qualifications was provided to RAC by Alan McLean, a Spectrum Management Officer with the Amateur Radio Service Centre of Industry Canada.

Mr. McLean now indicates that he spoke in error yesterday regarding Mr. Myers. Mr. McLean now indicates that the qualifications were suspended but then were re-instated a couple of weeks ago. It appears that Mr. McLean relied on a database of examiners which incorrectly showed the qualifications as suspended. Mr. McLean further indicates that a task has been assigned inside of Industry Canada to update the database to show the qualifications are no longer suspended.

Understandably, Mr. McLean does not wish to further discuss the matter publicly at this time.

The Radio Amateurs of Canada shares the concerns of Mr. Myers that incorrect information regarding his work as a volunteer examiner was provided by Industry Canada to not only the Radio Amateurs of Canada but also to several members of the public.

From August 5th to 12th, the Canadian Paragliding National Championships were held in Pemberton, BC. The Radio Amateurs of Canada became extremely concerned about the organizers assertion that all participants must use a VHF radio tuned to 146.415 Mhz. This frequency is inside the two meter amateur allocation. Amateur operators are the primary user of this band and incursion by non-authorized users is of great concern.

RAC has been in contact with representatives from the Paragliding community and has also requested enforcement action to be taken by Industry Canada. The Radio Amateurs of Canada does not generally discuss enforcement while an investigation in ongoing. However, given the scope of concern over this matter it is appropriate to release details of actions to date.

Industry Canada has advised this morning that their British Columbia office has notified the group that use of Amateur Radio Frequencies by persons who are not in possession of a valid Amateur Radio Operator's Certificate is not permitted. The group has assured Industry Canada that all participants who used the channel were indeed holders of a certificate. A notice indicating the requirement to hold an operators certificate has been added to the website of the group.

Additionally, Industry Canada has advised the group of a VHF frequency inside the Aeronautical Radio Frequency Band that has been allocated for their use on a Canada Wide basis.

The Radio Amateurs of Canada has prioritized protection of Amateur Radio Frequencies from incursion. If you suspect incursion on an Amateur Band or are aware of the illegal operation of Amateur Radio products by individuals or companies that do not hold operators certificates, contact the Radio Amateurs of Canada to report your concerns.

The Radio Amateurs of Canada is the national voice of Amateur Radio Operators in Canada. Our members enjoy numerous benefits including access to The Canadian Amateur publication. We extend frequency protection work to members and non-members alike to ensure the future of our hobby and emergency service work.